A communication network may include network elements that route packets and/or frames through the network. Some network elements may include a distributed architecture, wherein frame processing may be distributed among several subsystems of the network element (e.g., line cards, switches, and traffic managers). In some instances, a network element used in a communication network may be a multi-function Ethernet aggregation network element. A multi-function Ethernet aggregation network element may be one which supports many functions, including without limitation link aggregation, virtual LAN (VLAN) detection, and traffic management/shaping. Forwarding or routing packets may be performed based upon Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. MAC addresses may be stored in a table. Ternary content-addressable-memory (TCAM) may be used to store information for hardware processing of network elements.